Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a controller with an array of sensors and their associated buttons. It is primarily used as a music controller but may be used in other applications commanded by the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI).
Throughout this specification the following terms will be used as follows:
1. Conventional keyboard: standard, traditional or conventional keyboards, such as those found on pianos, organs and harpsichords. These keyboards have keys that may be activated by touch. MIDI controllers generally have conventional keyboards.
2. Generalized keyboard: A generalized keyboard will feature a two-dimensional array of keys which are arranged such that a particular piece of music may be played with a single fingering pattern regardless of the range or key signature in which the piece is performed. Changes in the range or key signature of a piece of music are achieved solely through variation in the position at which the single fingering pattern is executed, not through changes in the fingering pattern itself.
3. Player: a musician, someone who operates a musical instrument.
2. Description of the Related Technology
The controllers used for MIDI modules have most commonly been either conventional MIDI keyboard controllers or MIDI guitar controllers. In the past, controllers which have been designed to offer advantage to the amateur generally limit the options available to the professional, while controllers which have been designed to offer advantage to the professional generally limit the options available to the amateur. Some of the constraints in controller design constitute impediments to both the amateur and the professional.
An impediment exists where the most proximate buttons do not control the most harmonious note combinations.
An impediment exists where the buttons control the notes in an arrangement that requires a different fingering for the same type of chord or scale when it is played in different ranges or key signatures.
An impediment exists where the buttons are placed in a pattern that does not allow the fingers of a hand to simultaneously span the instrument""s entire range from the highest to the lowest note.
An impediment exists where the buttons that control the notes of a given major scale are not united within a common area such that notes not part of the scale are outside the boundaries of the area.
An impediment exists where the major scale must be fingered differently with different but related intonations of the notes.
An impediment exists where the two hands may not play the same type of chord or scale when fingering the buttons in mirror symmetry with respect to one another.
An impediment exists where the player cannot manipulate single buttons or rows of buttons with any part of the lengths of the undersides of her fingers.
Conventional keyboards that have been developed previously for MIDI share the above impediments and most of the following disadvantages:
1. Their design involves complex force-transfer mechanisms which are prone to breakdown and which are both costly and difficult to manufacture.
2. Each of the twelve key signatures requires memorization of a different fingering pattern, greatly increasing the complexity of playing in multiple key signatures, and necessitating a lengthy learning period.
3. In playing the same type of chord with differing root notes, one must often adopt differing playing configurations, making harmonization very complicated.
4. Differing octaves of the same note are placed in a widely separated pattern, preventing the fingers from simultaneously reaching most voicings of a chord.
5. The most-often used harmonies usually entail playing widely separated, hard to reach notes, while the least-often used harmonies usually entail playing closely spaced, easy to reach notes.
6. The most likely spatial mistakes made by the keyboard performer lead to the most noticeable dissonances.
7. There are no inert areas between keys which could decrease the likelihood of the musician inadvertently activating undesired notes, which inert areas, if provided, could also facilitate the precise expression of rests by providing the equivalent of xe2x80x9csilent keys.xe2x80x9d
8. The conventional keyboard is the model for the standard notation system and for music theory, which are as complex and awkward to understand as the conventional keyboard is to play.
9. The playing position is not adjustable. There is a single angle of approach to the keyboard.
10. A chord form on the keyboard cannot be reoriented in multiple ways to give related chords.
11. The keyboard has an archaic geometry biased to the notes of the key signature of C major and its modes, which impedes balanced treatment of the other eleven major key signatures and their modes.
12. The practical, simultaneous input is one note per finger, making a chord of more than ten notes difficult to play.
13. It is impossible to simultaneously cover all the range of a note even when using both hands on a conventional, full-range keyboard.
14. The length of conventional and most generalized keyboards limits the number of multiple octaves of a chord that a single performer can play simultaneously.
15. The keys that must be played in sequence to allow arpeggiation are very dispersed, necessitating much coordination and physical effort, due to the need to cross hands over each other.
16. The keys cannot easily be strummed, which limits the playing rate to a single key activation per finger stroke.
17. The musician""s hands are specialized in a pre-set way for the high and low ranges; and neither hand has simultaneous access to the entire range, greatly limiting rhythmic interactivity.
18. The activation of notes of the same pitch on different keys is not possible, so that in order to maximize the speed and accuracy of repetitions and trills of the same note, the player""s hands are forced together where they must alternate back and forth awkwardly, striking the same key.
19. Note combinations whose tuning approximates an extended series of harmonic overtones or of subharmonic undertones are widely separated across the length of the keyboard, disallowing their simultaneous manual activation, which necessitates using organ stop drawbars to effect control over timbre.
20. Keys are designed solely as finger-activated devices; the player""s other body surfaces or his implements can""t easily be employed to play notes.
21. The conventional keyboard employs keys, and does not have the advantage of sensors that respond differently to being played in different areas (of the button) and from different angles.
22. Two or more persons playing the same instruments do not each have full access to all the available notes.
23. The player""s moves, such as what key signature she is playing in, cannot easily be followed visually, due to the dispersed arrangement of notes for each major scale and its modes.
24. Design limitations impede real time control by the player, thereby requiring the use of sequencing technology in order to fully utilize the polyphonic capacity of most synthesizer modules.
25. The player tends to adopt a stressful body posture during performance.
26. The force transfer mechanisms of keys make mechanical noise.
27. The spaces between keys allow easy entry of foreign matter, resulting in deterioration of internal mechanisms.
28. There is no simple method of assembly because of the many moving parts, such as keys and action components.
The following Summary and Advantages sections describe how the Sensor Array MIDI Controller overcomes the above-enumerated disadvantages of the prior art.
(A note""s location is equated for purposes of description and explanation with the location of the button that controls the note.)
The Sensor Array MIDI Controller is basically a new and highly advantageous arrangement of buttons and associated sensors used to control musical notes, with said buttons and associated sensors being affixed to a convex playing surface on a sensorboard. The notes are then produced by a music system including: a power cord or battery, a scanner, a MIDI cable, MIDI module, optional recording device, and optional amplifier and speakers.
The basic, nonredundant configuration of notes is called the chromatic matrix; and two or more chromatic matrices are affixed side-by-side on the top surface of a sensorboard to form a playing surface. Sensorboards vary in size and shape; and they may be attached together to form multi-instruments or may be unattached to be played separately. A sensorboard with right-hand chromatic matrices affixed to it is a right-hand sensorboard; and a sensorboard with left-hand chromatic matrices affixed to it is a left-hand sensorboard. A sensorboard can have from two to four or more chromatic matrices per playing surface and on any sensorboard there are overlapping, or mutually derivative, or coinciding rows of buttons in which adjacent buttons (within a row) give notes related by:
1. eighth intervals (octaves) in the rows of eighths
2. fourth intervals in the rows of fourths
3. fifth intervals in the rows of fifths
4. whole tone intervals in the rows of whole tones
Any notes on a sensorboard excepting any note at the edge of the playing surface, is immediately surrounded by six notes that are maximally harmonious with or most closely related to it, a significant difference from keyboards.
The specific features of the invention avoid all the numerous disadvantages of the prior art and give surprising and highly useful advantages, such that the Sensor Array MIDI Controller is a significant improvement over other MIDI controllers in musical applications and can be used, as well, as a controller in non-musical applications.
The sensor array MIDI controller has been designed to offer advantages to both the amateur and the professional without limiting the options available to either kind of player. Whether the sensor array is played in real time, or is used as a compositional workstation it empowers the player in the following ways:
The most proximate buttons control the most harmonious and most often used note combinations. (FIGS. 14,23,24)
The buttons control the notes in an arrangement that allows the same fingering to be used to play the same type of chord or scale regardless of the range (FIGS. 15,16,17,18) or key signature (FIG. 5A) it is played in.
The buttons are arranged in a pattern that allows the fingers of a hand to simultaneously span the entire range of the instrument from the highest note to the lowest note. (FIG. 6)
The buttons that control the notes of a given major scale are united into a common area such that buttons that control the notes that are not part of that scale are located outside the borders of the area. (FIGS. 5A,14,19)
The buttons are organized so that the major scale and its modes may be fingered in the same way no matter which of a wide range of optimun intonations is used. (FIG. 23)
The two hands may finger the buttons of two boards with symmetrical playing techniques to achieve equivalent results. (FIG. 6)
Any part of a finger""s length may be used to activate single buttons or rows of buttons on the curved playing surfaces of the boards. (FIG. 11)
The Sensor Array has the foregoing and also the following advantages:
1. The design involves simple transfer mechanisms which are not prone to breakdown, and which are both easy and cost effective to manufacture. (FIG. 4)
2. All twelve key signatures may be played using the same fingering patterns, which greatly reduces the complexity of playing in multiple key signatures and reduces the learning period required. (FIG. 5A)
3. To play the same type of chord with differing root notes, one may always adopt the same playing configuration, making harmonization exceptionally simple. (FIG. 5A,)
4. Differing octaves of the same note are placed in close proximity allowing the fingers to simultaneously reach most voicings of a chord. (FIGS. 15,16,17,18)
5. The most often used harmonies generally involve playing closely spaced, easy to reach notes while the least often used harmonies generally involve playing more widely separated notes. (FIGS. 14,19)
6. The most likely spatial mistakes made by a performer result in the most harmonious consonances (FIGS. 14,23,24)
7. The layout of notes offers the option of having inert areas between buttons, which inert areas decrease the likelihood of the musician inadvertently activating undesired notes, and which facilitate the precise expression of rests by providing the equivalent of xe2x80x9csilent keys.xe2x80x9d
8. The Sensor Array serves as a visual model that makes music theory as easy to understand as the instrument is easy to play. (FIGS. 14,19,20,21,23,24)
9. The herein disclosed embodiments of the Sensor Array are playable from multiple angles of approach; and some embodiments are designed to be worn while being played. (FIG. 6)
10. The same idealized chord form can be given multiple orientations, producing different but related chords. (See FIGS. 25 and 26 for idealized tablature examples and examples of the same chord form in eight different orientations.)
11. The Sensor Array is not biased to the key signature of C major and its modes, but allows balanced treatment of the other eleven key signatures and their modes. (FIG. 5A)
12. The player of the Sensor Array is not limited to a practical simultaneous input of one note per finger. A single finger may generate many notes simultaneously by being laid across the surface of the instrument, making possible chords of up to 60 or more notes if both hands are used. (FIGS. 3,3A,3B)
13. It is possible to cover the entire range of a note simultaneously with a single finger by placing it over an entire row of eighths. (FIG. 3)
14. Because of the compactness of the note configuration, a single player can play many multiple octaves of a chord simultaneously. (FIGS. 3,15,16)
15. Arpeggiation of chords and scales may be achieved without hand crossovers, minimizing the required level of physical effort and coordination. (FIGS. 15,16,17,18)
16. Because multiple notes may be activated per finger stroke by sliding in any direction across the playing surface, strumming is greatly facilitated, and the playing rate greatly increased. (FIGS. 3,3A,3B,3C)
17. Each of a performer""s hands has simultaneous access to the entire range of notes on the Sensor Array, with neither hand necessarily being specialized for the high or low ranges, which greatly facilitates rhythmic interactivity. (FIG. 6)
18. The activation of notes of the same pitch on independent buttons is possible, so that in order to maximize the speed and accuracy of repetitions and trills of the same note, the players hands may remain separated, where they may conveniently alternate back and forth striking buttons at independent locations. (FIG. 6)
19. Button combinations which activate notes whose tuning approximates an extended series of harmonic overtones or of subharmonic undertones are never spread over an area larger than twelve adjacent octave rows, which allows the hand direct control over timbre without organ stop draw bars. (FIGS. 24A,24B)
20. The buttons on the Sensor Array are not designed for only finger activation. Such things as the palm of the hand, the arm, picks, sticks, or other implements can be used to activate buttons for special musical effects and sound nuances.
21. In some embodiments, the Sensor Array controller is supplied with sensors that are designed to respond differently to the area on which, and the directions from which, there is an activating pressure on the button. (FIG. 4)
22. Two or more persons can play the Sensor Array at the same time, even on a single playing surface, with each having mutual access to the entire range of notes. This results from the plurality of identical chromatic matrices, each with the full range of notes. (FIG. 6)
23. The player""s moves, such as what key signature she is playing in can be easily followed visually due to the united arrangement of the notes of each major scale and its modes. (FIGS. 5A,14,19)
24. Design advantages facilitate real time control by the player, making optional the use of sequencing technology in order to fully utilize the polyphonic capacity of most MIDI modules.
25. The general design of the Sensor Array is conducive to a relatively relaxed body posture during performance.
26. The transfer mechanisms of the Sensor Array are designed to make less noise as compared to other MIDI controllers. (FIG. 4)
27. The buttons of the Sensor Array are designed to prevent entry of dust and debris into the interior of the instrument, which minimizes the deterioration of working parts. (FIG. 10)
28. With fewer moving parts than most conventional and generalized keyboards, the Sensor Array is relatively simple to assemble. The optional use of printed circuitry can simplify the manufacture of the Sensor Array. (FIG. 4)
(A note""s location is equated for purposes of description and explanation with the locations of the button that controls the note.)
A major advantage of the Sensor Array is that adjacent notes share more harmonics and subharmonics than non-adjacent notes. (FIGS. 24A,24B) For example, except at the edges of the sensorboard, a given C is adjacent to a higher and lower octave of C, both of which share a maximum number of harmonics and sub-harmonics with the given C, which is also adjacent to a G a fifth above and a G a fourth below as well as an F a fourth above and an F a fifth below, all of which share the next greatest number of harmonics and sub-harmonics with C. This means that in a physical sense these 6 notes are all more highly related to the given C than are any other notes. Likewise, all the other notes on the Sensor Array""s playing surface are maximally harmonious with their proximate note neighbors. (FIGS. 14,23,24)
On the sensor array it is possible to slide up and down rows of notes constituting successive octaves, rows of notes constituting successive fifths, and rows of notes constituting successive fourths, with highly pleasing and dramatic results. This feature of the present invention is unique and highly advantageous. (FIGS. 3,3A,3B)
All of these advantages of the Sensor Array make it possible for the player to more effectively express or conceptualize music, improvise or recite music, explore or define music, and to teach or learn music.